It’s our first In-Tents Questioning from a US festival, folks! *releases ticker tape*
Committed and most entertaining blogger Melanie Seasons - who you can read at Fake Plastic Noodles (guess her favourite band) - went to Lollapalooza in Chicago at the weekend. Do Radiohead and sunshine mix well? How hot can wine get? How dangerous are those little plastic personal fans? All will be revealed…
1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.
Melanie Seasons, 25, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
2. Which festival have you recently attended?
Lollapalooza, Day 1 on August 1, 2008.
3. Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?
Hadn’t been before, but many of my friends have. As far as I’m concerned, the line-up for Friday could never compare to the fest’s other years.
4. Which act gave the best performance, and why?
As much as it pains me to say it, it’s a toss-up between The Raconteurs and Radiohead. Radiohead is my all-time favorite band, but I have to admit the energy in the audience was lacking. People seemed to be much more alert for The Raconteurs and it really showed on stage.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday August 7th, 2008 at 1:02 pm

Not everyone went to Glastonbury this weekend. Some old souls descended on Hyde Park for the badly-named two day ‘Hard Rock Calling’ festival, otherwise known as ‘an Eric Clapton gig with an amazing supporting line-up’ and ‘a repeat of the Isle of Wight’. I was there on Saturday for some easy-listening guitar fun…
Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.
Gemma, 24, from London. Again.
Which festival have you recently attended?
Hard Rock Calling (Saturday only)
Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?
Nope, first time for me.
Which act gave the best performance, and why?
Well, Eric Clapton’s was the longest and most well-received, but I think Jason Mraz (above left) pitched his set perfectly. It was only about 35 mins long but he captured the mood of the day; loads of people on picnic mats enjoying the sun and listening to some reggae-infused lite rock. He even covered Bobby McFerrin’s ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’.

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Posted by issysampson on Monday June 30th, 2008 at 3:15 pm

My esteemed colleague, Shiny Media’s fashion ed-in-chief Gemma Cartwright, went to the Isle Of Wight festival for the first time at the weekend. Seems like a good place to kick off this year’s batch of In-Tents Questioning, yes?
Below Gemma tells us all about her Police obsession and why she’s first person on My Chemical Toilet not to loathe Newton Faulkner.
Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.
Gemma, 24, from London.

Which festival have you recently attended?
Isle of Wight.
Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?
First time for me, but everyone else I was with has been numerous times before and apparently the line-up wasn’t as good as usual, mainly because Saturday wasn’t our cup of cha at all.
Which act gave the best performance, and why?
The Police, because they are The Police. They’re just such professionals. There was no stupid banter, no faffing around, and even though they’re in their fifties they still rocked the 60k strong crowd and got thousands of kids who weren’t even born when they released “Roxanne” singing every word. I was raised listening to Sting and The Police, and now I realise I’m not the only one. I was really shocked by the amount of young fans really getting into it.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Wednesday June 18th, 2008 at 9:00 am

Every time we feature someone on these pages, we like to says things like “by day, Bob is a bank worker, but by night…” and all that. However, our most recent interviewee is something of a mystery, seemingly leading a decadent rock ‘n’ roll life 24 hours a day. Sickeningly, she’s always the belle of the ball, leaving the rest of us looking like dead-beats.
So who is this fair maiden of trash? Well, she goes by the name of Vicky Walker and recently she attended the brilliant All Tomorrows Parties: The Nightmare Before Christmas. Here are her views on the festival.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Tuesday December 18th, 2007 at 10:27 am

During the week, Simon Barrett is a respectable worker for The Brighton & Hove Argus. However at the weekends he likes to rock his socks off on tiny islands off the coast of mainland Britain. Lucky for him, then, that the weekend just gone saw Bestival light up the Isle Of Wight. Here’s his take on it.
1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.
Simon Barrett, 27, Brighton
2. Which festival have you recently attended?
Bestival

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Posted by sophiebruce on Thursday September 13th, 2007 at 8:36 am

1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from.
Cait Doc, two weeks off 27, from NI.
2. Where the devil have you been?
Electric Picnic, Stradbally, co. Laois, Eire
3. Been before?
First timer
4. Who knocked the spots off you at Electric Pic-er-nic?
I’d have to go for Bjork’s ethereal-loveliness-becomes-all-out-rave main stage performance. Hyperballad was blindingly good, and Declare Independence sent the already very appreciative crowd completely buck mad.

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Posted by mofgimmers on Monday September 10th, 2007 at 3:49 pm

1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from.
DW - Hello my name is Dianaimh Ward, I’m almost 25 and I’m from Strabane.
ND - Niall Doherty, 25, Strabane, Northern Ireland.

2. Which festival have you recently attended?
Both - Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Co.Laois, Eire
3. Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?
DW - No. I’ve been to Witnness and Oxegen (which are the same thing except two years apart), so compared to them EP was amazing. Although Oxegen is known for its massive headliners and the fact it brings in so many bands the atmosphere is so different. EP is more about the experience than the bands. It welcomes families so there’s a much more chilled atmosphere. There’s much more to do apart from seeing bands at EP such as a free Circus show, Paint balling (ouch!), a film tent, a whole arena dedicated to the well being of your body and soul. So compared to other festivals EP offers much more, which attracts a large and diverse crowd.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Monday September 10th, 2007 at 3:12 pm

Hamish Law (on the right in the picture) is a marketing executive from Oxford… but don’t hold that against him. When he’s not wearing suits and looking important, he’s a secret cider-swigging dance fiend. Here’s his view of Creamfields 2007 (or what he can remember of it…)
1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.
Hamish Law, 24, from Oxford.
2. Which festival have you recently attended?
Creamfields.

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Posted by sophiebruce on Thursday August 30th, 2007 at 8:22 am

1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.
Well Cilla, my name’s Clare, I’m 25 years old and I’m from Bristol.
2. Which festival have you recently attended?
After missing out on Reading festival weekend tickets, I managed to blag a Sunday ticket so went for that day.
3. Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?
Yes, I have. This year was darn good but it’s difficult to top Placebo and Maximo Park (last year) in my eyes.
4. Which act gave the best performance, and why?
Nine Inch Nails, by far. They were astounding. The power in “the pit” was unbelievable. Trent Reznor is much more imposing now he’s beefed up than in his poncey “long hair and make-up” days.

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Posted by sophiebruce on Wednesday August 29th, 2007 at 11:10 am

Katie Lee kindly completed our questionnaire a couple of months back on her return from Glastonbury. Last weekend she took her big green Katiemobile to, appropriately, the Green Man Festival in Brecon, Wales. Here are her opinions and conga experiences.
1. Kindly tell us your name, age and where you’re from. Now.
I’m sure we’ve been through this… oh well, never mind. Katie Lee, 28, London
2. Which festival have you recently attended?
The Green Man

3. Have you attended this festival before? If yes, how does this year compare?
Yes, I have. It was still excellent, but busier and bigger, which is a Bad Thing. It’s not that I don’t want it to be a success, it’s just that I don’t want it to be spoiled like Glastonbury.

4. Which act gave the best performance, and why?
Victoria Williams (famous only for writing a song that Pearl Jam covered – Crazy Mary) absolutely blew me away. I thought she was amazing. Joanna Newsom and The Earlies were also excellent.

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Thursday August 23rd, 2007 at 11:25 am